บททั้งหมดของ Bound To The Billionaire Brothers : บทที่ 21 - บทที่ 27

Ava walked fast down the hallway, still shaken from the anonymous video, the trending news of she and Ethan and the seductive voice of Sophia.She wasn't crying yet, she was just feeling overwhelmed. She just wanted to get to her office and think everything through. When she reached for the handle of her office door.“Ava,” Ethan's voice stopped her.His reflection hovered behind her in the glass door. He looked tense like someone desperate to reach her.“Ava, please.” Ethan said.She hesitated, then pushed the door open and stepped into her office. He followed suit and closed the door behind him.The office went quiet. The only sound heard was the hum of the air conditioner, the tapping of another employee from the next office and her heartbeat in her ears.Ethan stepped closer to her. “What you saw,” he began, his voice strained. “It wasn't what you think.”Ava sat down, she kept her eyes on the desk. Anywhere but his face.“I’m overwhelmed, Ethan. I really wasn't thinking about an

Ava’s gaze lingered on the kitchen door, as Ethan left Lucas’s condo. Her expression was unreadable, Ethan had come looking for her but she still let him leave without her. It felt like a knife driving through her heart.And of all people, she had chosen to stay with Lucas.AT ETHAN’S PENTHOUSEHe slammed the door hard once he entered, he tossed his jacket across the couch and pulled his phone immediately.He dialed her number again.She answered.“Hello…” her voice was barely calm.There was a good amount of silence that stretched between the both of them.“Ava,’ Ethan finally spoke. “Can you please come back to work at least?”She didn’t say anything.The image of her sitting somewhere, knees knocked, shrinking into themselves, lingered in his mind.“Ava?” He called her again.“...Fine.” She agreed. “I’ll resume tomorrow.”He shut his eyes, relieve washing over him like a tide.“Thank you,” he murmured. “Just… come back.”AT THE COMPANYThe next morning at the Halenito company, Ava

Ethan left Lucas's condo and drove back to his penthouse.He stepped into his penthouse looking like someone who was at the verge of losing a battle. His tie was roughly undone and his hair scattered.Ava rushed to him immediately as he came fully into the room.“Ethan.” She whispered.He didn't speak. He just walked towards the couch and collapsed on it.He exhaled, a long breath that explained how tired he had been.His hands were still shaking, from the rage he barely contained at Lucas's condo.“I just need to get some rest.” He said. “Ethan…” She called him. “You'll be fine, okay?”She felt he needed to hear those words at that moment.“Thank you.” He murmured and walked to his room.THE NEXT MORNING Across the city, Susan Hale sat exquisitely in a five star restaurant, she wore a black blazer, hair styled to perfection. She was looking too elegant for a woman of her age.She dialed a number on her phone.A male voice answered from the other end. “Mrs. Hale.”“It's time,” she

THE COST OF DEPENDING Ava stood still even after the woman disappeared. Her breathing was uneven and her fingers were shaking from uncertainty.The voice and the warning still repeated in her head.Ava swallowed hard. “He must never know I’m here… and you may be their next target.”Those words kept repeating in her head.Her hands went weak. She leaned against the wall, pressing her palm over her racing heart as she forced herself back into the penthouse, shutting the door with trembling fingers.“What just happened?” she whispered.She searched for her phone and scrolled through it. Notifications flooded her screen thousands of them.Dozens of comments.Her video defending Ethan was everywhere.THE EMPLOYEE SPEAKS… CAN WE BELIEVE HER?HOW TRUE IS THIS? HOW DOES SHE KNOW SO MUCH ABOUT ETHAN HALE?She scrolled again, heart pounding loudly and her hands shaking uncontrollably.LIAR.IMPOSSIBLE.HOW MUCH DID HE PAY HER?Her chest tightened. She dropped the phone on the table like i